Sex workers speak out at the Aids Conference 2018

Sex workers around the world supported by sex worker-led organisations hosted several events during the 22^nd International Aids Conference 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Most of the activities were hosted at the Sex Workers Networking Zone. Sex Workers Networking Zone was a daily programme of events showcasing sex worker-led groups and organisations from around the world. There were also different sessions held within the course of the week where sex workers from around the globe talked about their successes and challenges in fighting stigma, discrimination and the criminalisation of sex work.

The phrase “legalise sex work” dominated all the sex worker activities and events. The people who came to support the sex workers unanimously declared that “sex work is what it is”. The message that was shared was one of acceptance and tolerance. Sex workers argued that HIV infections and fatalities in the community were largely a result of laws that drive sex work underground through its criminalisation. The effects of these laws fuel the very stigma and discrimination they have been fighting for many years. They promote abuse and violence against sex workers with no repercussions for the perpetrators.

The criminalisation of sex work and the police response to it continues to force sex workers to move to more hidden street and indoor locations; reduces their ability to screen prospective clients and to negotiate terms of sexual transactions, such as condom use; and limits access to health services including HIV care. To further their cause at the conference, on the 23^rd of July 2018, sex workers took a brave stand and marched at the Congress Centre shouting “sex worker’s rights are human rights. We want full autonomy of our bodies.”

Sex workers are not criminals. Civil society delegations from different countries had banners declaring, “Chase the virus not people”.

Sex workers and their allies were dressed in red, carrying red umbrellas. Thousands of people who attended the conference gathered together to witnesses the events of the day.

*Refiloe Ntcheme a male sex worker from Lesotho said, “What I have learned from this conference and other conferences I have attended is our challenges as sex workers globally are more or less the same. The legal frameworks regarding sex work in different countries fail to respect, promote and fulfil the human rights of sex workers, thus increasing their vulnerability to HIV”. He further mentioned that in countries where sex work is legalised, the law criminalise the clients of sex workers and that itself has the same effect as criminalising sex workers.

The other major concern was the human trafficking laws and policies which have had a devastating impact on the rights of sex workers. Lawmakers seem to conflate human trafficking and sex work when these are two different things. According to them, human trafficking is an egregious human rights violation involving the threat or use of force, abduction, deception, or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This may include forced labour, sexual exploitation, slavery, and more.

Sex work, on the other hand, is a consensual transaction between adults, where the act of selling or buying sexual services is not a violation of human rights.

While they agreed that human trafficking is wrong and needs to be addressed, they argued that conflating human trafficking with sex work can be harmful. Many anti-trafficking initiatives regard all sex workers as victims, relocating or detaining them in so-called safe houses against their will. Other efforts, like those that have shuttered brothels, have deprived sex workers of their autonomy, income, and secure working conditions. One Sex worker from United State (US) made reference to the U.S Act, “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Act” which put sex workers in a more vulnerable position than they were before the enactment of this law. “sex workers should be [part] of the solution to human trafficking, not the problem,” she said.

They were very vocal that they want full decriminalisation not partial. Partial decriminalisation simply means criminalising indirectly. They maintain that like any other industry, sex work should be regulated under criminal laws as is the case with any other person or business. Decriminalisation means that sex work is no longer seen as a crime but as work, and therefore, is subject to industrial regulatory mechanisms. It therefore means the removal of criminal and administrative penalties that apply to sex work, allowing it to be governed by labour laws and protections, as is the case with other forms of labour.

Looking ahead

The call to decriminalise sex work is a critical step to ensuring access to HIV prevention and supporting the central role of community and sex worker-led efforts in protecting the health and human rights of sex workers. In doing so, governments will be honouring their political commitments to end Aids by 2030. This also extends to ensuring that governments amend anti-trafficking laws to create a safe space for sex workers.

*Name has been changed